Obama Likely to Lose Unless He Does Better with Independent Voters

Via RedState, a recent Politico/George Washington University poll confirms that, despite his current advantage among women and razor-thin one-point lead, President Obama will have to do a better job of courting independent voters and closing Romney’s 10-point lead among Independents if he is going to win in November.

More important is the 10-point lead, 48% to 38%, Romney has among the critical Independents voters. That confirms Romney’s six point lead among Independents that Gallup found last month.

The Battleground poll also found that Romney has a “6-point lead among those who describe themselves as extremely likely to vote in November.”

Other interesting findings from the new Battleground poll include:

Obama’s job approval rating stands at 48 percent, down five points from February.

Most respondents have already made up their minds about how to vote in the fall: Forty-three percent said with certainty they will vote to reelect Obama, and 42 percent said they will vote to replace the president.

Romney is closing the gender gap — Obama leads among women by seven points, while Romney has the same lead among male voters. Obama leads among women younger than 45, 57% to 39%, while Romney leads among women older than 45, 50% to 45%.